


When It’s Good

by AlwaysWrong



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Drama, Drinking, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Father Kyungsoo, Guilt, Heartache, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Self-Harm, Slice of Life, Twins Kai and Jongin, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-06-30 10:08:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15749535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysWrong/pseuds/AlwaysWrong
Summary: Kyungsoo never intended to have a child so young. But things happen. Luckily, shortly after things took a turn, leaving Kyungsoo to raise his daughter alone, he met Chanyeol. A man he fell in love with who was happy to help raise his daughter. Things were all good until the Kim twins started working at the superstore with Kyungsoo. All too quickly he found himself tangled up in a mess as he fell for Kim Kai, the younger of the twins.





	1. Chapter 1

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but stare at the man with the wide smile standing across the counter, ordering food from another deli worker. His eyes crinkled as he laughed at something his twin had said. The two were new workers at the store, having just started a few weeks ago. Most of the store workers couldn’t tell them apart, constantly mixing up their names, or simply calming them by their surname. For Kyungsoo, it was easy to tell them apart. Jongin wore the gloves to work in, had a tendency to stand in the back and let others take the lead, had slightly longer hair. Kai was louder, always had a smile on his face, was usually playfully pushing one of his coworkers. He was also the one who kept catching Kyungsoo’s eye.

“It’s Kyungsoo, right?” Kai smiled broadly at him, as if every employee in the store didn’t wear a name tag attached to their smock. “A few of us are going to that new bar arcade place after work. Do you wanna come?”

The deli worker’s heart sped up at the invitation. “I’d love to.” He replies before thinking better of it.

“Awesome. You’re off around 10, right? You wanna hang around until 11. You can ride with me and Jongin if you want.” He flashed another one of those amazing smiles.

Thinking for a second, to the car seat in the back of his SUV, he nodded in agreement. “I think I’ll do that. I honestly don’t know where the place is.”

“It’s a date.” He winked and took his container of food from another deli worker.

As soon as Kai and his team were out of view, Kyungsoo ducked into the back, saying he was going to wash dishes and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Hurriedly before he got caught on his phone, he sent a message to his mother, saying he was working late and needed to have his daughter stay the night. Then he sent another message to his boyfriend, telling him a similar story and not to wait up for him.

The minutes ticked by slowly as he worked, feeling even slower than normal knowing for once he had fun plans for after work. The second the manager gave him the okay, he was pulling off his apron and heading for the back to wait on Kai. It took a lot of willpower not to stop in the aisle the other was stocking and talk for a few minutes. Instead he walked passed coolly and sat himself down on the couches in the break room.

—

The arcade was crowded and noisy. None too surprising for a Friday night. Huddled of people stand around, laughing and talking, plastic cups filled with beer in hand. People cheer on their friends at games or try to ruin their chances at the high score.

Kyungsoo followed a few paces behind the twins, taking in the scene, as they led the way to the bar where their team sat, doing shots of soju. All sorts of games filled the areas. Basketballs hoops, competitive Pac-Man, shooting games for days, racing games for motorcycles, cars, and Mario Karts, strange games in Japanese. The bright lights and sounds made him excited to start playing. Yet standing next to the brown eyed beauty at the bar as he ordered them drinks made his stomach flutter.

Passing the plastic cup of beer to Kyungsoo, Kai shared a look with his twin brother, before taking his hand and leading him away.

“Mario Kart. Loser buys the next round of drinks.” He challenged, swiping his game card for both machines.

With a grin, Kyungsoo too a long drink of his beer and plopped down in the plastic racing chair. Fingers wrapped around the steering wheel like the game was life or death and not a silly bet on drinks. The man was competitive and it was clear the other was too, even in a joking matter. He turned the wheel easily, selecting Iron Mario as his character and posed seriously for his racer photo. A laugh left his lips when he saw that Kai had chosen baby Mario and was posing with unexpected ageyo in his photo.

“Racers are you ready?” The game announcer asked as the countdown began.

The second the light flashed green, he slammed on the peddle, making his little cupcake shaped car screech out of the starting gate. He was barely around the first turn when a hand jerked his wheel, causing him to spin out.

“You cheater!” He laughed with surprising giddiness in his voice.

“What can I say, I play dirty.” Kai grinned wickedly, reaching over and jerking the wheel once again.

In an instant, both men were laughing as they reached over, tickling and grabbing at hands and wheels in determination to make the other lose the race. Neither caring at all at the computer racers zoomed past them. They were barely halfway through their second lap, both shaking with laughter, when the game announced that one of the computer players had won the race.

“This is your fault.” Kyungsoo laughed, tickling Kai’s side.

“I guess that means I’m buying the next round of drinks.” The younger man laughed, squirming away. “Come on.”

Reaching out, he slid his hand into Kyungsoo’s, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and pulled him to his feet. The man’s heart fluttered like he was a teenage as he laced his finger’s through the other’s.

The two wandered, slipping easily through throngs of people, talking absently, neither asking anything serious, mainly talking about which games to play. Often they would stop at random games, laughing hysterically as they threw balls at clowns of talks smack as they shot basketballs into the net. Eventually the two found themselves sat in a booth in the back of the bar area, empty plastic cups across the table and a plastic container of fried squid in between them.

“Tell me a secret.” Kai smirked, sliding an arm casually across the back of the booth as he relaxed.

“I can recite the alphabet backwards.” Kyungsoo remarked with a laugh and a small blush across his cheeks.

“Why? How is that even useful?”

“Don’t poke fun. It was something I taught myself to do when I was first learning the alphabet. Now it’s your turn. Secret time, Mr. Kim.”

“I really wanna kiss you.” His voice dropped an octave as he moved closer.

“That’s forward.” The older man let out a nervous chuckle.

“I’m going to.” Kai leaned forward, draping his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder and ducking down to press their lips together.

Soft lips, strong hand on his shoulder, another gripping his knee. The man’s touch made him shake in a way he hadn’t felt in some time. A feeling that washed over him that he didn’t know he had been missing. Without realizing it, Kyungsoo was leaning into the kiss, one arm snaking around the larger’s slim waist, the other reached up and tangled in the soft locks on the back of his neck.

As Kai’s fingers dig into his leg, pulling him closer, his phone started ringing in his back pocket.

“Do you wanna answer that? You have an obnoxious ringtone.”

Nodding, Kyungsoo pulled back, retrieving his phone from his pocket. A FaceTime request from his mother. Moving further back in the booth, he hit accept, watching his little girl’s face fill the screen.

“Daddy!” Yeri cried, her chubby cheeks red, eyes flooded with tears.

“I’m sorry, Soo. She wouldn’t calm down unless she called you. She’s missed you all day.” His mother apologized, angling the phone so she could be seen as well.

“Yeri, I thought you were gonna be a big girl tonight and be good for Nana.” Kyungsoo couldn’t help but scold.

“No! No! Want Daddy!” She wailed, making her little face even redder.

“Okay. Daddy is gonna come and get you. But. You have to stop crying and be a good girl for Daddy. Lie down in your bed until I get there.”

Yeri nodded, tears still rolling down her cheeks but stopped screaming and curled back into her grandmother’s lap.

“I’ll be there soon, Ma. Just gotta finish what I’m doing.” He didn’t wait for a response before hanging up. Sliding his phone away, he turned to his date. “I gotta go. I’m really sorry. Would you mind driving me back to my car.”

“You have a kid?” Kai asked, not moving from his spot.

“Yeah, I do. And she needs me right now. Please.”

Nodding, Kai slid out of the booth and retrieved his keys while holding his hand out to Kyungsoo.


	2. Chapter 2

For nearly a week at work, Kyungsoo kept to himself. Every time he saw Kai, or even his twin brother for that matter, he made himself scarce; finding any excuse to go into the back or help another customer instead of having to interact with the man. His phone had gone off more than once in the past few days with messages from the younger male, asking how he was, asking if he wanted to go out again, asking if he had done something wrong when he realized that Kyungsoo may or may not have been dodging him. All the while, Kyungsoo kept his phone on silent, locked, and face down, not wanting Chanyeol to see the messages he was receiving and not wanting to see them himself. What had be been thinking, going out with Kai? He was in a long term, committed relationship. He lived with Chanyeol, had been with him since Yeri's mother bailed over two years ago. He had it good in his relationship. He had someone to take care of him and his daughter, someone his daughter loved. Someone he loved.

But did he really still love Chanyeol? That was the question that had been plaguing him since he got that familiar fluttering feeling in his stomach when he first met Kai. The thought only became more persistent, causing him to break down crying more than once, in the past few days. Since his date with Kai, his head had been muddled up with the through of Chanyeol over the years, what he was doing, why he was doing it, trying to figure out what he was really feeling about Kai. For two days now, his racing thoughts had formed a migraine behind his eyes that wouldn’t go away no matter how many pain pills he took or drinks he made. It was all too much. It was an obvious lie if he said he wasn’t attracted to Kai. But he did still love Chanyeol. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be so messed up in the head and the heart. He wouldn’t be plagued with guilt when he went home to his boyfriend.

“Did I do something wrong?” Kai’s voice pulled Kyungsoo from his thoughts, causing him to drop the box he was holding.

Kyungsoo was sure that Kai had the day off, he hadn’t seen him once all shift. That was the only reason he had taken the time to grocery shop after he clocked out. However, there stood Kai, right behind his cart, as tall and handsome as ever. A look of concern and maybe a little annoyance on his face.

“No, you’re good.” He murmured out, steering his cart around the man in his way.

“Then why are you ghosting me? I thought we had a connection.” The younger fell in stride with Kyungsoo’s steps, keeping a distance between them as they walked.

“I have a daughter to think about.” Kyungsoo said simply, hoping the weak excuse would suffice.

“I’d like to meet her someday, if you think that’d be cool.”

The older man couldn’t stop the fluttering in his chest at the offer. Instead of answering, he bit his lip to keep from smiling and tossed a package of juice boxes into the cart.

“I know it’s a major turn off for some guys, your daughter. But I don’t care. You’re really cool, Soo. I won’t treat you wrong. I’ll treat you like the king you are. And you’re little princess.”

“It’s not that simple. And it’s not that I don’t like you.” He admitted, adding more items to his cart.

“You gonna tell me what the problem is then? Or am I supposed to start guessing?”

“I....I sort of live with someone.”

Kai shrugged a shoulder. “I live with four other guys, two dogs, and Kris’s granddad.”

“No. Chanyeol isn’t my roommate.”

Realization crossed over the other’s face. “I’m not cool with being a side piece.”

“I’m not asking you—“

“Why did you agree to go out with me if you’re in a relationship? A committed relationship.”

“Stop!” Kyungsoo turned his cart abruptly, causing the other man to crash into it. “I know I could have gone about this better....but I like you, Kai. I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t see a possibility of being with you. Things...it’s...completed....having Yeri makes things difficult....she’s attached to a Chanyeol. He takes care of her like she was his own. Leaving him isn’t as simple as packing a bag, slapping him on the back, and crashing in a friend’s couch until I get my own place.”

“So you do wanna leave him?”

“I don’t know what I want just yet. I’ve been with him basically since Yeri was born. Almost three years now. He accepted Yeri into his life when could have just left.” He spoke quicker, seeing the disappointment and annoyance radiating on Kai’s face. “But I really like you. I haven’t felt this way about someone in a long time. But because I’ve got Yeri I can’t just dive in. Even if Chanyeol wasn’t around, I’d still have to think of my daughter. If we try dating, it’s not gonna be easy.”

“I never wanted easy.”

“If you wanna go on a second date, I’ve got tomorrow off. We can grab lunch and get to know each other better.”

“I’d like that. Text me the details later tonight, yeah? I gotta go before Kai leaves me here.” Kai flashed a smile before leaning in a placing a kiss on Kyungsoo’s cheek.

\--

Yeri squirmed around as Kyungsoo tried to shove a pair of little shoes on to her feet, making it nearly impossible. After another minute of struggle, he gave up entirely, throwing the pink Velcro shoes into the diaper bag on the floor. Normally his patience wasn’t easily broken when it came to getting his little girl ready to leave. Today, he was in a rush, hoping to leave before Chanyeol came home. It wasn’t common for him to leave the house on his off days, unless it was Sunday, when he went to visit his family in Goyang. Without a believable excuse, he didn’t want to have to tell his boyfriend some half assed lie as he tried to leave.

Not too long later, Kyungsoo was sitting in the grass, watching his daughter chase a squirrel around the park, trying to keep an eye out for Kai. It wasn’t much of a wait before he spotted the handsome man strolling easily down the path towards him. He looked oddly different outside of the work uniform. Instead he wore fashionably ripped jeans with a long sweater and a plain shirt underneath. Nothing at all what he pictured the man’s personal style.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Kai needed to use the car. He got his braces off today.” Kai smiled apologetically, before dropping into the grass and placing a kiss on Kyungsoo’s cheek.

The older blushed. “It’s okay. We haven’t been here long. She hasn’t even asked for a snack yet.” He nodded towards his daughter as she came toddling towards them.

“She looks so much like you.” The other marveled, glancing between the child and the man beside him.

Kyungsoo sighed, taking in the appearance of his daughter. Short dark hair in a single pony tail on the top of her head, the only hair style he could accomplish with any success. A thin-lipped grin that took up her entire face when she laughed. Wide, curious eyes. “All I see is her mom.”

“What happened to her mom?”

An ache soaked through his chest at the still painful memories of the woman he once loved so deeply. A romance striking the couple hard in their early twenties, when they still believed they were impervious to the dangers the world could throw at them. Careless they were in almost every aspect of their relationship, not caring of unforeseen consequences or what the others around them had to say. They were young and in love, doing what they pleased. Until they weren’t. Two little pink lines that changed the dynamic entirely. No longer in love, both scared in their own rights, fights happened constantly as they tried to decide how to handle the situation. In the end, their bickering wasted their time and before they knew it, they were at the hospital welcoming a little girl into the world with tears everyone assumed were of joy. If only the child had been a blessing like they were told again and again.

“Kyungsoo?”

“She left.” He said simply. “Didn’t want to be a mother. So she isn’t.”

“I’m sorry.” Kai mumbled, dropping his gaze.

“It is what it is. Truthfully, I didn’t wanna be a dad either....but...that’s not a story to tell while sober.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up.”

Kyungsoo shrugged a shoulder. “I would have asked too. A gay man with a kid. It’s a wonder.”

“I assumed bi....after your mom called on our first date.”

“I don’t really label it. I like who I like. That tends to bite me in the ass though.”

“Are you referring to me with that?”

Another shrug was the only answer he gave. “A story for another time. After a few bottles of soju.”

“Tell me something you don’t have to be drunk to share.” Kai pressed.

“I wouldn’t change any of it. Not one single thing.”

“Daddy! Snack?” A high voice called out at the small body came barreling towards them, as fast as her chubby legs could carry her.

“No snacks, lunch.” Kyungsoo told her, catching her in his arms. “Yeri, this is Daddy’s friend Kai. Can you say hi?”

The little girl looked over at the other man and hid her face in Kyungsoo’s neck. He laughed, sliding her diaper bag on to his shoulder as he stood up.

“She’ll warm up to you.” He promised.

“Maybe I should have brought her a gift.” Kai chuckled, sliding his hand into Kyungsoo’s free one. “She’d love me then.”

\--  
  
It was late when Kyungsoo pulled his car into the parking lot of his apartment complex. Looking up, he could see the light from their living room shining out through their curtains. Lifting his sleeping daughter from her seat, he went over the simple lie in his head again, in case Chanyeol asked. A doctors appointment that ran long, followed by a dinner date with his brother. Nothing too out of the ordinary, nothing to raise suspicions. The whole situation he had put himself in was causing his anxiety to be worse than ever. Walking up the stairs, he made a promise to himself that he would sit down and talk with Chanyeol about everything he was feeling.

“Hey. I’ve been wondering where you’ve been.” Chanyeol was on his feet, game controller still in hand, as soon as Kyungsoo was in the door. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“It died. I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo said quietly, stepping out of his shoes.

“You okay?” The tall man asked, placing a kiss on Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he took Yeri from his arms.

“Migraines are back.” He was happy he could respond with at least part of the truth.

“That’s called having a toddler.” He smirked, boosting the child up in his arms.

“Don’t wake her.” He took his daughter back and headed for her bedroom. “I’m tucking her in and then I’m gonna lie down.”

“I’ll be in later. Baek just got online, we’re gonna see if we can finish this mission.” He dropped back down on to the chair positioned by the television.

With a nod, Kyungsoo exited the living room. In the nightlight lit bedroom, he carefully changed his daughter into pajamas before tucking her into her crib. She was getting big, probably too big for her crib. But he couldn’t bring himself to get her a toddler bed yet. That would mean his little girl wasn’t so little anymore. Flipping the baby monitor on, he headed back through the living room, towards his own bedroom.


End file.
